Neuro Note - 1,000 to 1 The Cory Weissman Story

    For my second neuro note, I watched a movie based on a true story titled 1000 to 1 The Cory Weissman Story. Cory loved basketball and was a great at the sport. In high school he scored 1000+ career points and proceeded to play in college basketball at Gettysburg College. He was on track to be the starting point guard and was looking forward to the upcoming season. One day Cory and his best friend “Pops” were working out at the school gym when he began to feel what he said a stabbing pain in his brain and he noticed he couldn’t move his left arm. The rushed to the athletic trainer, and where they realized he was having a stroke. He had paralysis on the left side of his body. He was in a coma and the doctors weren't sure if he was going to make it. Cory was known as a competitor, he never quit. He worked extremely hard towards his main goal, to play basketball again. He went through intensive therapy, had some bumps in the road, but he never gave up.  He lived by the motto “nothing works unless you do”. The last game of his senior year the coach put him in the starting line-up. There was a huge crowd and everybody was so excited to see Cory back in his uniform. He had come so far and worked so hard for this moment. With 20 seconds left in the game, his coach put him in. The other team immediately fouled him, which gave him the opportunity he had been waiting years for. He had the chance to go to the free throw line. He made his free throw making him have one career point in college. This is how he went from “1000 to 1”.

    I chose to watch this movie for my neuro note, because I am a huge basketball fan. I knew that this story would be extremely inspiring after I read the description. As an OT, it is our jobs to get people back to doing the things that are meaningful to them. For Cory, this was basketball. This movie allowed me to see how much of an impact the therapy team has on someone’s personal goals. If it wasn’t for his PT and OT he might not have had the opportunity to score in a college game. From this movie, I was able to see how strokes can affect someone young and healthy. Cory had an AVM stroke as a result from a subarachnoid hematoma. This caused him to have paralysis in his left side. We have learned about AVMs, and hemorrhagic strokes in class, but this movie allowed me to see what it is like for someone to experience this. We sometimes like to think strokes only happen in adults, but that can happen to anyone, at any age. I think my biggest take away is that as an OT, you should always work with your client to reach their goals. Big or small, if it matters to them it should matter to you. His coach said there was no way he could play basketball again. He used that as his motivation to get back faster and stronger than before. If you are a sports fan, I recommend you watch this movie. It is extremely inspiring as Cory is a great role model and an inspiration for other kids who have also suffered from strokes at a young age.

Popcornflix. (2019, October 10). 1000 to 1 The Cory Weissman Story. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeph5aWpTTQ